A World Without You
by Lovely White Violets
Summary: Beast Boy and Raven have never gotten along, but when Beast Boy accidentally finds himself able to travel through parallel dimensions, he learns what life would be like if Raven meant something to him. Ch 8: In the original universe, Raven starts to piece things together.
1. Across the Universe (0)

Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance

Pairing: Primarily Raven/Beast Boy

Summary: Beast Boy and Raven have never gotten along, but when Beast Boy accidentally finds himself able to travel through parallel dimensions, he learns what life would be like if Raven meant something to him. Raven/Beast Boy.

Disclaimer: Teen Titans is not owned by me. And neither are the titles of any songs I happen to use. "Across the Universe" is originally sung by the Beatles, and there is a nice cover of it done by Fiona Apple.

Author's Notes: Hm...new idea. I broke up with my boyfriend, which is just the greatest feeling in the universe, let me tell you. Anyway, in one of my more desperate moments, I wondered what it would be like if I woke up one morning, ran into him, and pretended like nothing had happened between us for the last year or so, and this story was borne. The writing's not my best work, but I think the idea's interesting.

5/16/05: I've been looking over my notes, and I think it would be also best if I proclaimed which universe the characters happen to be in, hoping to bar any confusion. This will start the next chapter. I'm trying to make the story reader-friendly, but I know you're all critical thinkers and can probably discern which Ravens and which Beast Boys I'm talking about.

As always, REVIEWS and CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM welcome.

**A World Without You**

Chapter One: Across the Universe

They were at it again.

It was impressive, Robin thought, how many arguments they could have in one day.

This morning, it had been over Beast Boy's breakfast prank—causing Raven's kettle of herbal tea to explode all over the kitchen. There had been two mini-fights during their afternoon in the park: one when Raven halted their football game to call a foul on Beast Boy's team, and the second, when Raven accidentally forgot to pack the picnic basket with tofu hotdogs. Then, there was the fourth one during dinner when Beast Boy spilled water over one of Raven's books.

This fifth time, they were arguing over which channel the television should be on. Beast Boy wanted the comedy channel; Raven tried to put in a convincing argument for—as she called it—the "nothing channel", better known as "turning the TV off."

Neither would compromise.

So, in the ensuing battle, Robin had taken the opportunity to steal the big-screen TV away from them both. He didn't think they would mind. In a minute, Beast Boy would storm out of the room to pout, and Raven would disappear through the floor.

"Well, fine, I don't have to put up with this." Beast Boy said, finally as he stormed out of the room.

Raven huffed and a black portal on the floor swallowed her up.

Robin grinned.

He was good.

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Robin brought his cup of coffee closer to his face, taking a sip and savoring the flavor before swallowing. Drinking the bitter stuff allowed him to think straighter. It certainly wasn't as if anything else in the Tower was going to get him to think clearly.

Raven and Beast Boy especially.

"How many times must I tell you to stay out of my room!" Raven yelled. Several objects encased in Raven's trademark black orbs sailed past Robin's head and hurled themselves at the green changeling. Starfire had to dodge a hairbrush when Beast Boy ducked in front of her. Beast Boy continued his race for survival around the Titan kitchen.

"Sorry, Star!" He called, ducking a book (which hit Cyborg). Beast Boy earnestly faced Raven. "I only went in to apologize for yesterday! I was sorry about accidentally cooking your stupid tea leaves!"

"So, they're 'stupid' now, are they?"

If Raven wasn't careful, she would accidentally toss the refrigerator at the changeling.

"Look, it's not my fault the door to your room was left open and I happened to read the first page of your diary!"

"It's not a diary. It's a creative journal." Raven seethed.

"It was good, whatever it was."

"That 'whatever' you speak of was my poetry!"

Beast Boy yelped as he was trapped in a corner with Raven advancing on him. A frying pan successfully smacked the object of her ire, and he dropped to the floor in a heap.

Beast Boy groaned. "There, Raven! Are you happy? I think I've lost my ability to think."

"Funny. You never seemed to possess that ability before."

"Hey!"

"Tell me, Beast Boy, how does one 'accidentally' read a creative journal?"

Beast Boy was spared the pain of having to answer and incur more of Raven's wrath when the blare of the alarm galvanized all the Titans into action.

"Titans, GO!"

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Vortex was his name, and he didn't seem to have any particularly special powers other than irritating Raven.

"Azarath Metrion Zin—" A particularly strong gust of wind tossed Raven aside as if she were a rag doll.

So maybe he did have _other _powers, but they weren't very good, Raven admitted. Mid-toss, Raven flipped upright, skidding to a stop on the asphalt about half a block away from the fight. She had just regained her balance, when she was caught in the gust of wind again, and started hurtling towards a blue ovular mass the size of a standard door.

Okay, so maybe he could open complex vortexes to parallel universes, Raven was forced to amend, as she struggled to regain some sort of control.

Vortex was trying to escape by opening the portal. Anything not secured well within a city block would fly in with him. Raven had seen several pets fly through already as well as a red mailbox and an unfortunate bird. She plastered herself against a building, and with her limited view, tried to place the other Titans to see how they were doing.

The plan apparently was anchor oneself to anything that would stay secure.

A few feet away from Raven, Robin had dug one of his birdarangs into the steel beam of a construction site to anchor himself. Raven noted that Starfire was secured quite well in the Boy Wonder's grasp. It was cute. In the disgusting romantic sort of way.

Cyborg and Beast Boy were closer to the portal than the other three. Cyborg had a tight grip on one of the trees in the city; the portal's suction did not seem to bother him in the least. Beast Boy wasn't nearly so lucky. He had a grip on a streetlamp that was close enough to the portal to start bending towards it.

Raven saw him lose his grip, and he hurtled quickly towards the blue doorway. Raven lashed a black arm from where she was, grabbing him. There was no point. The portal, as much as she hated to admit it, was too strong, and her grip on Beast Boy also faltered.

Beast Boy crashed through the portal before anyone could so much as blink.

Behind him, the portal closed.

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When Beast Boy woke up, he was in bed, and the lights in the room were turned off. He had a hell of a headache, and he sat up in his bed, trying to figure out how he had gotten there. The portal was the last thing he remembered, and he was pretty sure he had gone through it, but since he was in Titan Tower, Raven had probably caught him.

The door sliding open startled him out of his thoughts, and he turned to see Raven at the doorframe, carrying a mug that was steaming.

"I brought this for you." She said, kneeling down beside him. She had set the mug beside his bed, and the smell of chocolate coming from the mug caused his stomach to rumble. "Are you feeling okay?"

He chuckled nervously. "Hungrier than I thought, but fine, I guess."

She gave a small laugh and an affectionate smile, and he was suddenly very confused. Raven laughing? That, and he couldn't figure out for the life of him why she was here in the first place or what she was doing.

He was even more confused when she started to brush stray hairs away from his face, and he didn't know what to do when she gave him a very friendly kiss on the forehead. And, 'friendly' didn't even begin to describe the kiss she gave him next, a kiss on the mouth that made his cheeks burn and his heart thud. The chocolate was entirely forgotten.

"Take care of yourself." Raven said, pulling away from him. She left his side and gave him one last smile before she left. "Sleep well."

"Yeah." He echoed, throat dry.

The door closed, and sleep was the farthest thing from his mind.

A/N: I always love starting new stories; the story always seems so promising. Anyway, as I've said before, I really would like to improve and shape my writing style, so any REVIEWS or CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM would be great (or email me at: lovelywhiteviolets at hotmail). Thanks!


	2. If You Should Try to Kiss Her (0)

Title: A World Without You

Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance

Pairing: Primarily Raven/Beast Boy

Summary: Beast Boy and Raven have never gotten along, but when Beast Boy accidentally finds himself able to travel through parallel dimensions, he learns what life would be like if Raven meant something to him. Raven/Beast Boy. Chapter 2: Raven has problems of her own.

Disclaimer: Teen Titans is not owned by me…just the worlds are. Oh, and any new costumes Raven manages to get. The song "If You Should Try to Kiss Her" is sung originally by Dressy Bessy.

Author's Notes: Chapter 2's finally up! Wow, chapter one got a lot more feedback than I ever expected. Thanks, guys! This story was borne rather randomly, so hopefully it doesn't fail to disappoint in the following chapters.

To ultraviolet4ever: I like marshmallows, thanks!

To Insane clutz 4 ever: You'll see.

To RavenFanatic01: The only way to learn how to write a fanfic is to start writing and keep getting feedback on what you write (your own as well as other people's…don't be afraid of constructive criticism!). Also, reading helps since you can look at other author's styles and learn from them while trying to develop your own style. That's just my advice.

**A World Without You**

Chapter Two: If You Should Try to Kiss Her  
Location: The Teen Titans Universe As We Know It  
(…which will be known hereafter as 'THE Universe')

At last, Vortex ran through the portal, and Raven froze in quiet shock as the vortex dwindled to a close, taking with it the demanding pull that kept the Titans from moving into action.

A few more seconds passed and Robin's voice came from somewhere saying, "Is everyone okay? Cy?"

"I'm fine." Cyborg said in reply, walking up the street to Robin while surveying the damage from the portal.

"Raven?"

Raven pulled herself from her position behind the building. "Fine." She murmured, collecting herself.

"Beast Boy?"

Raven felt guilt and shame well up from somewhere deep inside since she knew Robin's reply would go unanswered. She had tried to save him from the portal, but her strength failed her. Who knows where Beast Boy was now? She opened her mouth to report her teammate's status.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Beast Boy's unexpected voice came from the spot where the portal had been exactly. Raven's guilt was quickly replaced with relief. "Where's Star?"

"With me." Robin said in tight voice. "We're good."

In silence, they rode back to the Tower. Robin's aura of fury and disappointment over their having let Vortex escape barred any chance of conversation between the Titans. Not that Raven would have participated anyway.

Almost losing Beast Boy was enough to keep her from making a commentary about their entire battle. It was unnerving, Raven thought, the way she had grown so attached to her teammates that she worried about them constantly. Even though Beast Boy was annoying, she wouldn't try her hand at living life without him as a teammate. It was how she felt about everyone else as well.

She had been lucky today.

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…Or maybe, not so lucky after all, Raven amended.

Two unlucky things happened when they arrived at the Tower. First, Robin had gathered the whole team and had given them all a lecture so stern and a training session so taxing that Raven was sure she wouldn't be able to look Robin in the eye for a week out of shame. Second, after Raven had grabbed a book and her favorite tea to relax that evening, Beast Boy decided to interrupt her in a way she found utterly alarming.

It went as such:

"Rae."

That was usually Cyborg's nickname for her, so Raven was somewhat startled when she looked up from her book to see Beast Boy standing in front of her.

"Yes?"

"Are you mad at me?"

"No." She replied, and turned back to her book hoping that that was the end of things for tonight. Beast Boy seated himself next to her.

"I mean, really?" Beast Boy asked, scooting closer to her.

He tugged the book from her hands, and she sent him a menacing glare.

"Well, if you keep stealing my books like that, yes." Raven frowned. Beast Boy sent her a pleading look. "I'm not mad at you. Can I have my book back please?"

"Why are you ignoring me?"

"I'm treating you the way I always treat you." Raven replied, confused.

"That's not true, and you know it. If you're mad at me, then just say so."

"But…But, I'm not."

"Rae…" He said, drawing the syllable out dramatically.

"Beast Boy…" She replied, drawing her syllable out warningly.

He shrugged. "Well, if you're not mad at me, then..."

With one hand, he drew her closer to him, and with the other, he lifted her chin up.

"Beast Boy, what—" She began to protest.

And, he kissed her.

Kissed her as if he had a hundred times before.

Raven stepped back, feeling awkward and out of place.

"Good night." Beast Boy said, giving her a playful smile and sauntering out the door.

2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Raven left the living room after he'd gone, teleporting into her room.

What the _hell_ was that?

What the hell was he thinking?

He had kissed her. _Kissed _her!

Well, if she hadn't been mad before, she certainly was now. She should kill him. Stab him with a knife. Throw him telekinetically to the other side of the universe. She was mad.

And the worst part was, she didn't know if it bothered her more that he kissed her or if it bothered her more that she liked it. Or perhaps, she didn't like it, but for some reason the kiss felt…

There was no other way to describe it, but the kiss felt familiar. As if he had done it before. Knew exactly where in the small of her back his hand went… Knew at exactly what angle the kiss should be… Knew how to make it...nice. For her. Specifically for her.

She shook her head.

She was going crazy. Or maybe everyone was.

Beast Boy certainly was.

2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Raven hated confrontations with friends, and by the time she went to sleep, she had decided that if this would be the last time Beast Boy kissed her, Raven (with time and therapy) would gladly have come to dismiss it as a moment of insanity and move on with the rest of her hectic life.

Beast Boy had different ideas, and kissed her again the next day.

Tired of being in her room, she had intended to lounge around in front of the television, making sarcastic comments to the boys about their video gaming antics while pretending furiously to read a book of spells she had recently acquired.

This never happened.

Instead, when the door slid open and the normally bad-tempered Raven emerged, she was promptly greeted with a cheerful, "Good evening, Rae."

"Beast Boy." She nodded curtly. "What are you up to?"

"Going to the living room." He replied, stepping towards her. "You?"

"Also, going to the living room…" Raven retorted, pointing in the general direction. Beast Boy flashed her a smile and took another step towards her, pinning her between the doorway and himself. Raven moved away, only to hear the door 'swish' close behind her, effectively sealing her escape. She gulped and, to her chagrin, felt her cheeks turn a dull red. "…to read."

"Why?" He asked, voice lowered as his head bent towards hers. He pressed his lips to her mouth, pulling back a moment later.

"I…uh…" Raven stammered, her brain frantically trying to decide whether to answer his question or to smash him into a wall.

He kissed her again while she fumbled.

"I…I like books." Raven stammered when he pulled away.

"Ah, okay." He nodded patronizingly while giving her a mischievous grin. "I'll see you in the living room, then?"

"Yes." She said quickly, satisfied she could answer that question.

"Bye-bye, Rae."

He sauntered down the hall.

And, Raven felt like an idiot.

A/N: I always love starting new stories; the story always seems so promising. Anyway, as I've said before, I really would like to improve and shape my writing style, so any REVIEWS or CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM would be great (or email me at: triandrusicewing at hotmail). Thanks!


	3. Walking Out of Stride (1)

Title: A World Without You

Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance

Pairing: Primarily Raven/Beast Boy

Summary: Beast Boy and Raven have never gotten along, but when Beast Boy accidentally finds himself able to travel through parallel dimensions, he learns what life would be like if Raven meant something to him. Raven/Beast Boy. Chapter 3.

Disclaimer: Teen Titans is not owned by me…just the worlds are. Oh, and any new costumes Raven manages to get.

Author's Notes (05/2006): I should get heart-broken more often because it certainly inspires me to write. The story behind chapter 3 finally getting put up: I broke up with my "boyfriend" who is going abroad next year, and I haven't quite convinced myself that I'm not in love with him. At least, though, we are still friends, which is a comfort. Anyway, sometimes, I feel like responding to people's stories or profiles, so I'm reserving space at the top here for that. Skip down if you want to read the story.

To Rurouni Tyriel: I certainly know how frustrating it is to have writer's block (hence, the year between updates), so I sincerely hope that you find your way around it.

To katergator: Yes, I was writing 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' with snaptdragon, one of my dearest friends whose fanfiction I endorse quite highly. When I started writing this chapter, I was a second year in college. But now, I guess, I'm older since I never update. I also think it would be I would be interested in seeing your work on deviantart.

To Snapplespoon: From what I know about "It's a Wonderful Life", this story is similar. This story's more like a cross between "The One" with Jet Li and "The Family Man" with Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni. Oh, and there'll be way more than just two Ravens by the time I'm done with this.

To IGAF-kun and Immortal Guardian: I've never really dedicated a chapter to anyone before (except maybe snaptdragon and missfire), but I suppose both of you shamed me into writing this one. Well, just kidding. But, really, thanks for the emails; I really appreciated it.

New Author's Note (12/2006): I started writing this chapter, the Author's note and my responses to people's profiles half a year ago. So, if things I've said don't match up…well, it's been awhile. Also, my titles for chapters are probably going to become increasingly more random. I chose "Walking out of Stride" by Badly Drawn Boy, which is in the soundtrack for About a Boy, the movie. I thought it kind of fits. It's instrumental. Anyway, on with the story!

**A World Without You**

Chapter Three: Walking Out of Stride  
Location: Unknown

About a good five minutes after Raven's kiss, Beast Boy had the presence of mind to close his jaw (which had dropped wide open). Other parts of Beast Boy's brain had also decided to function again, and with that, Beast Boy took in the deep breath of air he realized he hadn't taken in…well, he didn't remember when really.

Who knew Raven's kisses would be so breath-taking.

And, Beast Boy shuddered at the thought. To his knowledge, nowhere in Raven's repertoire of actions ranging from the most passionate to the least benign had Beast Boy ever catalogued the act of kissing. Especially kissing him. Undoubtedly, there was arguing with him, there was blowing up his stuff, and there was even the act of throwing heavy metal objects at his head. But-but, no, not kissing.

It was just something Raven didn't do.

And, because it was something Raven didn't do, Beast Boy didn't know what to do with the fact that Raven was doing things she wasn't supposed to be doing.

How was he supposed to feel? Confused was a good start. Was he supposed to be angry? Well, you couldn't really complain when an attractive girl randomly kissed you, even if she was your teammate and even if she normally hated your guts. So, not angry. He certainly wasn't sad, and he definitely wasn't happy. Confused pretty much covered all his bases.

And, what was he supposed to do? Forget it never happened? What were they going to do in the morning? Should he bring it up? Maybe Raven had accidentally lost her mind. Would she be embarrassed? Was this his fault? Was it a punishment for something?

Thoughts of punishment lead him to think about the secret poetry he had unknowingly gotten his hands on. But, kissing was a rather strange punishment for Raven to dole out for invading her personal privacy. In fact, Beast Boy would have thought kissing was the last anything Raven would dole out, punishment or reward or…something.

Weird. He ran a hand through his hair, tucking a stray green strand back in place before letting his arm sit limply in the circle his bent knees made. This…event…was going to bother him all night.

What was he going to do?

If he really wanted to clear things up, he should go straight to the source and ask. Raven wasn't hard to talk with, provided she was in the mood for it. And, he wasn't going to get answers sitting here puzzling out the whys all by himself.

Leaning against the wooden frame of his bunk bed for moral and physical support, he stood up.

3 3 3

Raven had just made it to her bedroom door, when a hand deftly grabbed her upper arm and spun her around.

"Beast Boy." She said, but both his name and her smile died on her lips when Robin entered her field of vision. "Uh, sorry, Robin, I just put him to bed, so I thought…" She trailed off because Robin looked serious. "What?"

"Raven, we have to talk." He gestured for her to follow, and they talked and walked through the Tower. It took Raven a minute to figure out they were going to the med lab.

"What happened? Is Star—"

"Star's fine." Robin interrupted smoothly. "Cy's fine. Well, mostly."

"Mostly?"

Robin pursed his lips, suppressing annoyance. "After you left the battle, we cornered Vortex, but he got away from us, taking some of Cy's wiring with him. But, Cy's not the reason."

"Then, why are we—"

"It has to do with Beast Boy."

Raven scrunched her nose. "Beast Boy? He's fine. I've been with him the entire time."

"You sure about that?" Robin asked, as they entered the lab. In a corner, Cy was running scans on what looked like Beast Boy on one of the massive computers.

Raven gave him a quizzical look. "Why, is Slade making super clones of us? …Again?"

"It's probably not as bad as that. Might not even be bad at all." Cyborg said, punching a couple more keys. The image on the screen changed, and Raven puzzled over the monitor for a moment, before starting to comprehend…

"Okay, explain." Raven said, brusquely, waving a hand dramatically over the beeping equipment. "Who did I just kiss good-night? My boyfriend or some mutant that looks like him?"

"Well, if Robin and I are right…" Cyborg gave her an awkward grin, "I'd say both."

3 3 3

Common sense had been the last of his senses to come to, so it was only when he was about to leave his room did talking to Raven seem like a very bad idea. Good old-fashioned cowardice replaced his resolve to see the source of his trouble, and he had crawled back into bed with the intention of forgetting it had even happened.

Not so, though. "Sleep well", Raven had said, and Beast Boy almost laughed at the irony as he looked at the clock. An hour had passed since the incident and he was no closer to sleep than he had been fifty-five minutes ago.

He tried turning over in bed again for the millionth time in hopes of drifting off and forgetting Raven's madness. But, every time he tried to forget, he'd just end up thinking about it some more. And, inevitably, the hard questions would start to surface.

Why had she kissed him in the first place? Could it be she actually started having feelings for him? And, if she did like him, what was he going to do? Beast Boy sighed, and flopped over onto his stomach, ignoring the growing ache in his head.

Well, whatever it was, it certainly wasn't sleep.

Even though he was tired, Beast Boy lurched out of bed, stumbled into the darkness, and got about five steps before his legs crumbled beneath him. He hit the floor, taking out an entire stack of comic books, his noisy monkey clock, and the now-cold mug of chocolate that Raven had left with him.

"…help me count: one, two, three, four…" The monkey clock chimed, cymbals banging in rhythm, as brown chocolate milk seeped into the carpet. Beast Boy didn't even notice anything but the tightness in his head, and he clutched at his hair, groaning. He felt as if Cinderblock had been stomping on his head all night.

There was another attempt at standing up, and this time, he managed to get a couple steps closer to his bed before falling again. His body suddenly felt heavy like lead, and sickness welled in the bottom of his stomach. He wanted to hurl—probably from motion sickness since the room was spinning so much.

Closing his eyes, Beast Boy at last found some solace in sleep.

3 3 3

_There was a crash, and one of them tripped. Somehow, it was Beast Boy that connected with the floor first, then, caught up in his clumsiness, she fell also. On the floor, with her toppled on top of him supported by her elbows, blonde hair pooling to the floor to either side of his head, Beast Boy lay perfectly still. _

_There was a curious blend of hope and apprehension in her blue eyes, and Beast Boy saw the resolve on her face strengthen, emotions plain on her face. He settled his hands on the floor, bracing himself. _

_Then, deliberately slow, she closed the gap between their mouths, elbows lowering to anchor her against him, hair sliding forward to tickle his cheeks. It was pleasant, and Beast Boy took the next moment to kiss her, senses suddenly overwhelmed by the feeling and smell and taste of her. She pulled away first, taking in his reaction. _

_"Terra…" He began, but trailed to a stop as the sound of the door to his room sliding open and a sudden gasp revealed a newcomer. _

_"I…" The stranger said, and when Beast Boy looked again, it wasn't a stranger, but simply Raven. _

_Raven, looking shocked and strangely distressed._

_The tension in the room and the stares of Terra and Beast Boy prompted Raven to practically stumble over her next words. "I'm sorry. I thought…I thought Beast Boy would be alone, and…well, I'm sorry I disturbed you." _

_Beast Boy saw her shift from side to side, undecided and embarrassed; then, Raven ducked her head down and fled the room. _

_The force of Beast Boy sitting up was enough to unceremoniously dump Terra to the floor. _

_"Beast Boy?" Terra asked. The changeling stopped, giving both her and the now empty doorway helpless glances. _

_Raven or Terra? _

_Why did it always come down to that? _

_In his arms, Terra melted away…_

3 3 3

…and Beast Boy woke up to brightness, his vision fading as the much more realistic pounding in his head made itself known. Why had that dream felt so real?

"Beast Boy? BB? Gar?"

He lifted one eyelid tentatively. He shut it quickly.

"Beast Boy?"

He opened his eye, could see only white, and then, there, there were three concerned faces staring into his own, three pairs of inquisitive eyes, and he snapped awake. Starfire, Robin, and Raven gave him sober stares.

"What? What happened? Where am I?" He tried to sit up, felt the sickness curl sourly in his stomach and reclined again. He realized he was on the examination table in what he assumed was the Tower med lab.

"We were hoping you could tell us that." Robin said, quietly. "Why were you on your bedroom floor?"

"I couldn't sleep because…" Beast Boy backtracked. "I decided to get something to eat or drink or…I'm not sure. But, I got out of bed and then everything started spinning. I guess I fainted. How long was I gone?"

"Not too long, if the noise of the alarm clock was any indication." Raven said.

"How do you feel?" Starfire asked.

"Sick."

He almost jumped when Raven put a hand over his eyes.

"Sick for the second time in one night, hm?" Raven probed the area around his eyes and temple. There was a brief moment of temporary relief before the headache returned.

"Second time?" Beast Boy asked.

"You don't remember the first time?" Raven asked, and was received with a blank stare. "Nausea, loss of consciousness and short-term memory indicate possible concussion. Check him." She ordered, and Starfire did her the favor of prepping a nearby computer for a body scan.

"When did I go down the first time?" Beast Boy asked.

"When you were fighting Vortex. Earlier tonight." Raven answered. Starfire adjusted a dial that lowered the headrest on the examination table.

"Fighting who?"

"You do not remember? That is strange." Concern flooded Starfire's face. "So, Friend Beast Boy, what was the last thing you _do_ remember?"

"Just now, I had a dream…about Terra."

Robin crossed his arms. "And, before that?"

"Raven gave me…" Beast Boy blushed bright red. "…hot chocolate."

"And, before _that_?" Starfire prodded, touching his arm.

"Before that…I was…" Beast Boy squinted, as if doing so would make his brain work faster. "I was…" He grasped for it, found nothing. "I can't remember. Can't remember anything."

"Nothing at all?"

"No. This morning, I got up. We went to that park for a picnic. Raven wouldn't let me have the TV." He looked up at the ceiling, more than a little desperate for something to jog his memory. "I accidentally went into Raven's room."

"You what?" Raven asked, crisply.

Beast Boy smiled nervously. "You knew I was there. You found me, threw pots at me. Clocked Cy in the head with a brush."

Raven flushed angrily. "I would never…"

Beast Boy turned to Robin quickly. "And, after that, I woke up in bed. Must have fallen asleep. Raven came in. Dreamt about Terra. Lather, rinse, repeat." He shifted on the lab table again.

"Hm." Robin mused. "Memory loss is plausible under the circumstances."

"Memory loss? What am I missing?"

Raven shook her head. "Somewhere between this ridiculous notion of _me_ clocking Cyborg in the head and you napping, you missed the huge battle with Vortex…"

"And," Robin paused for effect, "…inter-dimensional space travel."

Location Established.

Location: Alternate Universe #1

* * *

A/N: As I've said before, I really would like to improve and shape my writing style, so any REVIEWS or CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM would be great. Email or message me. Thanks!


	4. A Whole New World (1)

Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance

Pairing: Primarily Raven/Beast Boy

Summary: Beast Boy and Raven have never gotten along, but when Beast Boy accidentally finds himself able to travel through parallel dimensions, he learns what life would be like if Raven meant something to him. Raven/Beast Boy.

Disclaimer: Teen Titans is not owned by me…just the worlds are. Oh, and any new costumes Raven manages to get. "A Whole New World" is shamelessly taken from Disney's Aladdin. It seemed fitting.

Author's Notes: I hate putting stories out that aren't "perfect" or stories that aren't "good enough". As a result of this complex, I have never finished a story. And, given that one, I've been writing for at least fifteen years of my life and two, I eventually want to publish _something_, I feel it's a bad thing I've never completed anything. So, I resolve to finish this story. Good grammar, continuity, and perfect character development, be damned. On with the show.

As always, REVIEWS and CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM welcome.

**A World Without You  
**Chapter Four: A Whole New World  
Location: Alternate Universe #1

"And," Robin paused for effect, "…inter-dimensional space travel."

Beast Boy looked confused, and even loyal Starfire looked a bit skeptical.

"Dramatic much?" Beast Boy asked, after a distinctly uncomfortable pause. "Space travel? You've got to be kidding me."

"It's not _that_ unusual." Robin was defensive. "It's not like our reality hasn't been distorted before. What about Mad Mod? Or, Larry?"

"Robin, I'll agree we've been in a lot of weird situations in our day, but this one just might be a _little_ over the top." Beast Boy said. He waved a hand around the room. "Don't you think I would have noticed if _something_ was different, like, say, if the very fabric of my universe had just changed before my very eyes?"

"Well," Cyborg broke in, "_Did_ you?"

"No!" Beast Boy protested.

"Okay, wait, let's just back up a few paces here." Raven interrupted. "Robin, why are we even considering this?"

"It's just a theory." Robin conceded. "From what we know right now."

"Which is?" Beast Boy asked.

"What we've observed." Cyborg answered. "Your recount of today, for example. You said yourself we went picnicking this morning, but that's not true because we went yesterday. And, all day today, you've been with me."

Beast Boy opened his mouth to retort, but Raven beat him to it.

"You think Beast Boy jumped dimensions because he's mixed up days?" Raven asked, incredulous. Starfire saw Raven clench and unclench her hands with anxiety before she asked, "What if it's just disorientation and memory loss from the battle?"

"It could be. But the reason we're even discussing dimensions in the first place is because of Vortex and the battle. The one he"—and he jerked at a hand at Beast Boy—"forgot all about." Robin said, in defense. "You were off the scene before Cyborg and I got a chance to verify."

"Verify what?"

"A switch." Cyborg said. "Earlier, when Vortex's…well, vortex appeared in the park and started destroying everything, we split up. You and Starfire had to take care of some really unlucky pedestrians, so Robin, BB, and I went after Vortex."

"Right."

"Vortex was trying to escape from the start." Cyborg explained. "He fell out of his gate, at a dead run. Beast Boy saw him first, tackled him. And, Vortex kicked Beast Boy's green little butt straight into the gate behind him. I saw Beast Boy disappear _into_ the gate, didn't see him come back out."

"I also saw Beast Boy pass through." Robin continued. "That's why we were so surprised you show up on the scene, Raven, with a Beast Boy we were sure had gone through that portal."

"When I got there, I just found him, unconscious on the ground. Near the trees in the park." Raven said.

"Near the park where the gate was, more importantly."

Starfire looked thoughtful. "I am afraid I cannot say their theory is entirely unfounded."

Raven's eyebrows knitted together, as she processed her own version of the events. "If you and Cyborg are correct, then Beast Boy would not only have gone through the portal, he would also have to have been spit back out. Otherwise, I wouldn't have found him."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"But that doesn't mean _he_ is a different Beast Boy. We don't know anything about portals; he could just be suffering trauma." Raven protested. "Beast Boy recognizes all of us and this world. If it were another one of him, wouldn't there be some differences in our world that he would've picked up on?"

"What if this world is nearly identical to his own?" Robin asked.

"Raven, the idea that Beast Boy traveled dimensions is a little far-fetched to me, but it's possible. Stranger things _have_ happened to us before."

Cyborg said. "Robin and I just had the idea, and we wanted to test it out. We might be wrong."

"But, we might be _right_." Robin added, earning him a frown from Cyborg.

"I believe it would be helpful if we asked Beast Boy what he thinks of the situation? He would know best." Starfire suggested, sensing the tension between wound-up Raven and defensive Robin mount. "Is Robin correct?"

The whole group turned to Beast Boy, who had started to cradle his head in his hands. He felt sick.

Starfire put a hand on his shoulder. "It would be good to verify this now, while Vortex is still…available."

"This world seems normal." Beast Boy shrugged, focusing intently on a speck of dirt on the floor as he remembered Raven's behavior earlier. "But, I don't know. There are things…that don't add up."

"Like what?" Cy asked.

"For starters, Raven's never been this nice to me." Beast Boy tried hard to ignore the intense frown Raven was giving him.

("Clearly, he's had a concussion." Raven muttered, though no one was listening.)

"Second, I know I was in Raven's room today and that she was throwing stuff because I have a bruise to prove it. And, finally…" Beast Boy could see the lights start to spin. "Finally…"

Starfire and Raven cleared away from him while Cyborg's hand steadied him on the table. "And, finally…?"

"You shouldn't make him answer. He looks awful." Came a voice from the door.

Whatever his third piece of evidence was, it had lost to this.

Beast Boy knew as soon as he heard the voice. For one solid instant, the blurriness of the room and his dizziness focused, brightened because…there, there in the doorway stood Beast Boy's solid proof that he was definitely _not_ in Kansas anymore.

Terra. All five feet, seven inches. Blonde, blue-eyed Terra.

"…Her." Beast Boy said. "She's dead."

* * *

_Beast Boy woke first, but only because the remote control currently sticking out of the couch was poking into his lower back. Groaning, he tried to shift, discovering a weight keeping his body in place. A charming bundle of blue cloak was curled in place on his chest and legs, a head poking out and using his bony shoulder as an impromptu pillow. _

"_Rae?" Beast Boy craned his neck to see her face and ascertained she was asleep. "Rae? Wake up."_

_Years' worth of experience with the Titans caused Raven to react instantly, and she nearly jumped out of his arms until she realized it wasn't an emergency. She gave him the barest of snarls (Raven never liked waking up from a nap) and yawned. _

"_I should be snarling. You fell asleep on me." Beast Boy grumbled, as she resettled against his body, back pressed to his chest. His arms came around her, hands sitting firmly on her shoulders than sliding down to her waist. "I'm going to have a crick in my back for the rest of the day."_

"_Sorry." Raven said, in a voice that wasn't in the least bit. "I must've been more tired than I thought." _

"_Or that book was more boring than you thought." Beast Boy smirked, nodding at her forgotten book on the floor while one restless hand twirled a stray hair that had come undone from her long, purple braid. "How can you read books without pictures or anything?"_

"_Because I have an intelligence quotient larger than that of a four-year-old." Raven snapped, head jerking free of his hands. She allowed a few more moments of warm indulgence before swinging herself away from him and the dratted body heat that had made her curl against him during her nap. _

_She didn't know why she was so embarrassed over enjoying his physical company. It's not like Beast Boy felt anything when she ended up taking naps with him on occasion, and since their friendship had always been somewhat intimate, she shouldn't care about what it felt like to her either. _

_Because it didn't mean anything. _

_She stood up. "I should go. I have to work." _

_Beast Boy grabbed at her arm. "Have you been sleeping well?"_

"_Of course. Don't I look fine?"_

"_Well, you look like you always do. But you seem to be tired." Beast Boy said. "And, I think I know why." _

_Beast Boy felt Raven tense in his grip. _

"_I see." _

"_No, you don't. I know it's about Terra and where I'm going with her and something like that." _

"_You and Terra can go wherever you want." Raven said, truthfully. _

"_I mean, where we're going in our relationship." _

"_I know." _

"_Oh." _

_"Where you and Terra are…that's not my business." She stated, and he dropped her arm. _

_"Rae…" He said with a half-sigh. _

_"Beast Boy…" She said in the same tone. "I understand a lot more than you think. It's fine that you and Terra—"_

_"Rae, I love you." _

_Raven gave him the slight smile that made his nerves creep because it meant that whatever was coming next wasn't good, but she only replied with a simple, "You shouldn't say things like that when you have Terra now."_

_Beast Boy sighed. "Rae, despite Terra, I wouldn't give anything for our friendship." Beast Boy said. He stood up, somewhat surprised by the strength of his emotion. "Anything at all. So please, don't be worried that because I have Terra, I'll ignore you because I do love you, but in a very different way."_

_Raven wasn't sure if she liked those words, but as he hugged her, she couldn't do much else but accept it._

"_I won't be worried." Raven said. "But, do one thing for me." _

"_Anything." _

"_Really?"_

"_Uhm…so long as it doesn't involve the phrase 'waxing' and 'Beast Boy's bikini line' then I should be fine." _

"_No." Raven said. "Just…just go out some time with me?"_

"_Like out of the Tower?"_

_Raven gave him a dead-pan look. "What did you think I meant, Beast Boy?"" _

"_Well, you hate leaving the Tower, and…" Beast Boy trailed off, fearful of her wrath. "…sure." _

"_Terra won't mind?"_

"_She'll get it." Beast Boy said. "She understands me." _

_Raven nodded, her jumbled insides coming to the conclusion that, Terra or not, Beast Boy needed to know the truth. _

* * *

"I hope he's dreaming of something nice because I swear, when I'm _through _with him…" The voice faded. "Since when have I _not_ been nice to him?" 

"Oh, I don't know. The five years _before_ you two started dating possibly?"

"Shut up, Cyborg."

There was a pause before the same voice said, "Is it normal for him to black out so much? This is the third time tonight."

"Presumably motion sickness, possibly concussion, possibly fatigue?"

"You can get motion sickness from that kind of travel?"

"Let's just say I'm not ruling it out."

"Interesting. I wonder if…oh, he's coming to. Are you okay?"

Beast Boy woke in the medical lab, aware of incredibly bright lights and voices that were much too loud. He opened one eye, opened the other, made out the shadows of two figures. Experimentally, he flexed his hand.

"I…I think…" His voice was hoarse and from somewhere, he was given water. "How long have I been out?"

"An hour or so. You okay, or are you gonna faint on us again?"

That was Cyborg.

Beast Boy focused intensely on the bright blue units in his friend's suit. When he could see clearly the screws holding Cy's shoulder together, he looked at the other third of the conversation. Raven was holding a water bottle, hand on her hip.

"I…don't know. I don't think so." Beast Boy tilted his head, stretched his arms, and groaned. "I had the strangest dream."

"If it involved you jumping dimensions and meeting an alternate set of Teen Titans, you weren't dreaming." Raven said with a droll look.

"It didn't, but…that doesn't sound like a good situation either." Beast Boy said. He blinked a few more times. "Wait, I did jump dimensions?"

"We're fairly sure now." Raven said, answering his earlier question. "Terra's alive. I'm _nice_. Ring any bells?"

Beast Boy sat up. Images from earlier in the evening flooded his memory. "Oh, right."

"Indeed." Raven said, crisply, and awkward silence bloomed between them.

Beast Boy wasn't an empath, but he didn't need to be one to know Raven was becoming increasingly agitated. Thankfully, Cyborg broke the silence.

"Now that we've established that..." Cyborg mused. "The real question is: what do we do now?"


	5. Just Haven't Met You Yet (1)

Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance

Pairing: Primarily Raven/Beast Boy

Summary: Beast Boy and Raven have never gotten along, but when Beast Boy accidentally finds himself able to travel through parallel dimensions, he learns what life would be like if Raven meant something to him. Raven/Beast Boy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.

Author's Notes: Well, I can say without exaggeration that it has been awhile since I've forayed into the fanfiction world. I didn't think it would happen, but here I am again. _A World Without You_ has been very near and dear to my heart, and ideas for it have cropped up from time to time during the years of my absence. I have always wanted to finish this story. And maybe this time around, it'll happen. Thanks for waiting.

Story Notes: The chapter title is Michael Buble's _Just Haven't Met You Yet_, whose lyrics have less to do with the actual chapter and more to do with the feeling of it.

Also, apologies to those who have read _Vignettes_ because one scene will be hauntingly familiar. Chapter 5 from that story was taken from the alternate universe #1 timeline of this story. To be fair though, I did edit it. =)

As always, REVIEWS and CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM welcome.

**A World Without You**

Chapter Five: Just Haven't Met You Yet  
Location: Alternate Universe #1

_"Now that we've established that..." Cyborg mused. "The real question is: what do we do now?"_

Very little, it seemed.

They talked for an hour about their plan of action. They eventually decided that the best way to help Beast Boy return to his original universe and get the other Beast Boy back was to find Vortex and extract some answers. Starfire and Raven left to physically scan the city and surrounding areas, while Cyborg and Robin posted the equivalent of a virtual 'Wanted' poster to various contacts around the globe and set the Tower's massive computers to tracking the villain down. If Vortex was in this world, they would find him.

_If Vortex _is _in this world_, Beast Boy's brain whispered. _But if he isn't... _

Beast Boy didn't want to think about that just yet, but there was nothing else for him to do.

Instead of assigning him something, _anything_, the team had unanimously voted he go to bed. And it wasn't because he was the only one from another dimension. No one was sure if he would have any more fainting or dizzy spells, and they understandably didn't want to have him exhausting himself if there was no need to.

And he couldn't argue. He was tired after everything.

But unfortunately, he couldn't sleep.

Which is how he came to be rifling through his room at half past three in the morning. He couldn't believe what he had missed before, back when he thought he was just coming home from a normal mission on a normal day. His room was laid out differently for one. While he and this Beast Boy apparently liked beds that hugged the wall (to keep something solid at your back in case of attack), they definitely disagreed about the conditions. Instead of Beat Boy's laundry pile, there was a tidy hamper, and rather than his pile of things in his life that needed to be sorted out, there was a wide expanse of clean carpet.

He also found out he had books—a bookcase, in fact. Sure, it was two-thirds full of comic books and video game magazines and some fiction books he liked, but he also had more books on serious topics like medicine and anatomy, biology and chemistry. He found one book on his bedside table that seemed to be homemade, complete with neat illustrations and information on the various animals he had transformed into. In the margins of the book were notes on all the attacks he used, how long he could stay in form, and the weaknesses of the animal. All these notes were written in very precise, spidery handwriting, which he was fairly sure wasn't his. Flipping to the beginning of the book, he found an inscription. "For your birthday, Gar," it read, "From Raven."

He shook his head. If anything could remind him that this universe was different, surely _that_ was it. In this universe, he and Raven were _dating_, and she was giving him personal presents.

He opened his desk drawers next. It was eerily organized with papers and pencils stacked nicely to one side. He was about to leave the desk alone until he found a tin lunchbox with an embossed Superman on the front in the bottom drawer. The box was a gift from long ago, something from his Doom Patrol days, and it was what Beast Boy used to house what he considered "special things". Surprised that it would turn up in this universe—though except for Raven and his clean streak, the two universes had minute differences so far—he opened it.

Carefully, he emptied the contents onto the desk. In his universe, he kept tokens to remember his past, his family. Those were there, in more or less the same forms he remembered them. An old picture of his parents, some photos from his days with the Doom Patrol, and one with all the Teen Titans in front of their new Tower in Jump City. In his universe, he also kept mementos of Terra that she'd given him while they'd been dating. He was surprised to find they were also in this box: there was a hairpin Terra used to wear in her hair and the crushed flyer from a concert they'd gone to with a "Be there" in her messy scrawl at the top. Apparently they had dated at some point in this world, which he guessed was probably before Raven. He smiled, remembering those moments from his own life, but then thought it was strange that he shared them now with someone else. His other self, of course, but still an entirely different person. A stranger.

He put those carefully back in the box and rooted through the rest of the stack. There were more photos, now with the addition of Titans West and some with the Justice League. And a newspaper clipping where he stood grimly with an equally dour Adonis, who was in chains before a squad car. And then, curiously, there was a bright, shiny penny. He recognized it at once as the lucky charm he gave to Raven that fateful day they went to fight her father. Beneath that, there were two photographs.

One of them was face up, and it was of Raven. She was at a party, probably one of the years they had been invited to a JLA Christmas. It was a waist-up shot of her in an elegant, black cocktail dress, standing as candlelight filtered through champagne flutes cast a soft, ambient light on her face. The camera had caught her profile as she pondered something off-screen. She stared outwards wistfully, traces of emotion reflected in her eyes in a way that made her look somewhat vulnerable. Besides that, or perhaps because of it, she was stunning, the distinctive lines of her face and the shadows on her dress and neck making her seem dramatically and darkly beautiful. Beast Boy didn't need to guess why his counterpart had kept the photo, though he did wonder how he had gotten his hands on it. Dating or not, Beast Boy even thought _he_ would have kept it had he been given the chance, if only to remind himself that underneath all her self-proclaimed confidence, sarcasm, and hooded cloaks, she could have moments of true worry, uncertainty, and deep passion.

The other photograph he had to turn over. It was a picture of him—his counterpart—and Raven. He was the one taking the photo because the camera was too close, largely focused on him, and barely had her in the shot. In it, Raven was a bit blurry, looking at the camera out of the corner of her eye, one eyebrow arched, smirking, as Beast Boy was pressing his lips to her cheek, a wide grin still evident on his face. It took Beast Boy a moment to figure out why he even had this picture, but after looking at the photo, he realized that his other self must have been trying to kiss Raven (she had pulled away once she realized the trap, he guessed). He nearly dropped the photo. It was one thing for Raven to go around kissing him, but that he would do it back? Slightly panicked at this, he quickly stashed that picture into the box and shoved everything into his desk with a small 'thud'.

Clearly he wasn't in Jump City anymore, he thought as he climbed into the bed, hoping sleep would come soon. But that was a hopeless escape. He had seen with his own eyes proof that things were very different here, and while they weren't necessarily bad, fearful thoughts of being stuck in this foreign place cycled in his head, an endless mantra. His worry and his thoughts kept him company well into the night until at last, sleep took pity and claimed him.

* * *

_They were walking on the beach at night, watching the waves lap against the sand. A first, Raven had abandoned her boots and was walking barefoot with him (he hated wearing shoes, in the first place), and casually, he reached down to touch her hand as they wandered, leaving soggy footprints in their wake. Embarrassed by something, she scuttled away from him, her sand-prints arching away from his own._

_ "It's been awhile since we hung out like this," Beast Boy said, ignoring his rapidly numbing feet as cold water filled the sandy spaces between his toes. _

_ "We've been busy." _

_ "We've never been that busy," Beast Boy insisted. "It's been a week, Rae. I'm starting to get the feeling that you're avoiding me."_

_ "I'm avoiding you?" Raven echoed. She scowled darkly under her hood. "You're the one that's been gone."_

_ "Have not," Beast Boy replied reflexively. But he was feeling a little guilty; he'd just been thinking he hadn't been putting aside enough time for her. He had half-hoped she hadn't noticed. Sighing, he said, "Well, I'm here now."_

_ Raven looked over at him from the corner of her eye. He didn't sound angry, but he was definitely brooding. Great. Nothing like putting a person on edge right before you bring up a delicate conversation about your feelings for him.  
_

_Maybe today was not the day for giving up secrets, Raven thought desperately. She didn't have to say anything, after all. They could just enjoy the rest of their walk, have a friendly dinner, and part ways. She didn't have to—_

_"So, what did you want to talk about?" Beast Boy asked, interrupting her feverish thoughts._

_ Raven steeled herself. She had asked him out here for a reason, and she couldn't back out now. He had to know. _

_ "I just…" Raven stopped, swallowing a lump in her throat. "I just wanted to say that I approve of you and Terra," she said lamely. _

_ "Okay," Beast Boy said. There was more, he was sure, but she wasn't keen to give it up. "Great. And?" he prompted._

_ "Well, I don't want it to ruin our friendship," Raven said slowly._

_ "And it won't," Beast Boy promised, pausing to see if she was going to continue. He tried to close the gap between them, but every time he stepped toward her, she stepped away. _

_ "Of course not," she said earnestly, but said nothing more._

_ Beast Boy sighed. This was ridiculous. It was like pulling teeth. He stopped walking so abruptly it took her a moment to figure out that he wasn't moving with her. She turned back and looked at him questioningly._

_ "Rae, what's wrong?" he said flatly. _

_ She looked so balefully at him, he nearly hugged her right then and there. _

_ "There's something I wanted you to know," Raven said slowly. "But I'm worried it'll ruin us." _

_ "I doubt it," Beast Boy reassured her. He was at least close enough to touch her face if he extended his arm all the way, and he did so. _

_ "I'm not so sure," Raven said mournfully. _

_ He framed her face with his hand. "You look tired, Rae," he said. "I should have been paying you more attention, but I didn't. So tell me, what are you not saying? What have I been missing all this time?"_

_ "I love you," she said, so quietly it was nearly drowned out by the surf. "That's what you've been missing. I'm in love with you and have been for the last two years." _

_ He didn't say anything._

_ For several long moments, he just stared at her, and Raven hated herself. She couldn't sense what he was feeling with her powers; she couldn't figure out what he was thinking. What if this was a mistake? What if things were never the same again? Why the hell did she think it would have been better this way? Why did she open her mouth in the first place?_

_ "Rae," Beast Boy said with a certain finality that told her he had made up his mind about something. _

_ By then, Raven had come to the conclusion that, if she was already in trouble, she might as well heap it on in bushels. Feeling edgy and maniacal in a way she rarely felt outside battles, feeling adrenaline rush through her head, pounding and coursing through her, she leaned forward and kissed him._

_ Raven kissed him in a way that certainly wasn't friendly or platonic or any of the things they were supposed to be, and for an instant, Beast Boy was disoriented, struck with some parts wonder at her and some parts disappointment at the fact that he hadn't thought of doing this with her first_

_ Well, that was reconcilable._

_ His hands wound their way down her arms, and he tangled his fingers warmly with hers, holding hands with her for a moment then twisting out of her grasp to bring his hands up again and brush the stray strands out of her face._

_ "You," Beast Boy said reverently, when she pulled away. His heart was beating so quickly, he waited for his brain to catch up with the rest of his accelerated senses. Beast Boy inhaled a breath of salty cold air, and realized his entire body was numb from it, but he really didn't mind. "Rae, you're…" _

_ "Sorry," she said. She didn't want to hear what he had to say. "I'm sorry," she distanced herself from him. Raven, who'd had enough of the folly of emotions, fled._

_And he didn't run after her._

* * *

There were many things Beast Boy had intended to do that morning. Figuring out the status on the Vortex case was at the top of that list followed closely by figuring out a way to get back into his own dimension where his relationship with Raven made sense.

But instead of doing either of those, he found himself going on a picnic with the girl in question.

"There's nothing else to do but wait," Raven pointed out when he balked at the idea of leaving the Tower. "We'll hear the alarm if anything comes up."

And that was true. There was nothing to be done at the moment. While Beast Boy had originally insisted on staying in the lab to monitor the search, after a few minutes of hovering around sensitive equipment, touching spare parts, and pushing a random button or two, Cyborg had promptly kicked him out.

A walk and a picnic would do him good, Raven had said when she found him pacing anxiously outside the lab. By then, she'd successfully coerced him into carrying the basketful of food. "Besides," she said, "it's what we planned to do today anyway."

"We _planned_ something? _We_ planned together?" Beast Boy said. That morning, he wouldn't have imagined Raven wanting anything to do with him much less having a romantic picnic on the only grassy knoll on the Titans' island. Of course, he couldn't imagine Raven happily dating him either.

"Yes," Raven said stiffly, ignoring his incredulous snort. "We plan things quite frequently."

She sounded put off, which made Beast Boy feel kind of bad. But it wasn't his fault that the situation was the way it was. It was hard for him to come to a Titan Tower that looked just like home and to friends that looked just like his friends, but actually weren't. It was bizarre to return to something so familiar, yet so different.

But then, he realized, it had to be unsettling for her too, coming back to someone who looked exactly like your boyfriend—in fact, _was_ your boyfriend—only to realize he was a total stranger with none of the fond memories or shared connections you had created together. He sighed.

"You have to understand," Beast Boy said. "I'm not used to this. It's all happening so quickly. You hate me. But then you kissed me. How's a guy supposed to react?"

"Technically, it's my other dimensional self that hates you," she pointed out.

He pouted.

"But I guess you may have a point," Raven admitted, and Beast Boy was surprised she would concede so readily. She was silent for a long while then said finally, "I suppose it must be quite a surprise for you."

"You can say that again," he said, rubbing the back of his head.

She tilted her head to the side. "It was a surprise for me too at the time," she confessed. "It still surprises me sometimes."

"What does? That you could be dating someone so irresistibly handsome?" he said.

She gave him a startled look, which lasted only a second before it dissolved into a small smile. For a moment, with the sunlight warming the planes of her face and her mouth curved upwards in a way that was almost cute, Beast Boy could almost see how some part of him—some _alternate_ part, of course—might like a girl like her. An _alternate _girl like her, he amended. The Raven of this world seemed open, easier to get along with, and had more patience. The Raven of his world certainly wasn't like this, and they would never get along this well, would they?

Beast Boy shook his head.

"About that dating thing," Beast Boy said but trailed off.

Raven seemed to pick the thought out of his head. "How did it happen?" she supplied helpfully.

He nodded. "In my world, you're just a friend," he said. "So, I'm curious how it would turn out this way here."

She shrugged. "We used to be just friends."

"You guys probably didn't fight as much as we do," Beast Boy said.

Raven gave him an amused look. "Beast Boy, there were days when I thought you were specially created just to offend me," she said with such a dry tone that it actually made him chuckle.

"So, what happened?"

"How we actually got together was overly drawn out and more dramatic than I wanted," she said. She told the story in a slow and clipped way as if she had never really explained it before. "As in your world, we were friends for a long while. We spent a lot of time together because we were such good friends."

"Really?" Beast Boy asked in surprise. But when he thought about it, it wasn't too much of a stretch to imagine that he and Raven could be close. In those moments when he didn't make a stupid comment and she didn't fly off the handle, Beast Boy actually thought his Raven was almost…fun…to talk to. Still, it was easier to imagine that they were friends in this world. This Raven seemed less guarded, and she certainly wasn't throwing any hairbrushes at him, so that was a plus. "And then?" he prodded when she didn't continue.

"Then Terra came to the Tower," Raven sighed, looking out over the water. "And you started dating, and I realized that you…that I…that you were more important to me than I had thought."

There was a small silence at that, since Raven was embarrassed and Beast Boy was imagining if it were possible if the real Raven in his dimension, _his_ Raven, had ever felt that way when he had been dating Terra.

"So what did you do then?" Beast Boy asked.

"Nothing," Raven said. "What could I do? I didn't think you'd ever see me the way you saw her."

"But…?"

"You told me you loved me," Raven said. "As a very close friend, of course," she added in response to his blank look. "And I lost it. I invited you to the beach and I confessed," she said.

As she shared all this, Beast Boy could picture the events in his mind, though he didn't know how he could. He could _feel_ the cold of the water beneath his feet, _smell_ the salty air coming from the ocean, and _hear _how fragile and small her voice sounded as she told him how she felt. He shook his head.

"Threw yourself at me, it sounds like," he remarked.

"Something like that," she said dryly, the barest hint of amusement coloring her voice. He grinned winningly at her.

"Did my other self confess back?" Beast Boy asked.

"No. I didn't give him the chance because I ran away," Raven said. "And he didn't really follow me either."

"That moron," Beast Boy said, and he actually meant it because he was starting to like the Raven in this new dimension, the one who had feelings, and talked about them, and could stand to be teased a bit.

"Don't be too hard on him," Raven said fondly. "He had a girlfriend at the time, so what was he supposed to do?"

Having dated Terra himself, Beast Boy didn't actually know the answer to that question. "Well, what _did_ he do?"

"He chose me," Raven said, and now her cheeks were a dull pink, and Beast Boy mused over how he had thought she was cute, not once, but twice now in this conversation. "And that's pretty much it," she finished.

"How long has it been?"

"Only a month," Raven said quietly.

"One month? Wow, and here I was sure we wouldn't have lasted one day," Beast Boy said with a wink to suggest he was teasing her. "And how are we doing now?"

"You want a formal report?" she asked wryly, and Beast Boy grinned. "Pretty good," she said.

"I always thought someone like me would make a damn good boyfriend," he said confidently.

She lifted an incredulous eyebrow. "You say you're from a different dimension, and yet you're still as cocky as _he _is."

Beast Boy stopped to contemplate the foreign idea that this _other_ Beast Boy might be like him in any way. If he was similar to his counterpart and if the real Raven could ever be like this copy of her, then their relationship in this dimension might not be such a long shot after all. Uncomfortable with what that idea actually _meant_, he cleared his throat.

"So that's us," Beast Boy said. "Or at least you and this other me. But what happened to Terra?"

"She's still around. You saw her after all," Raven said.

Beast Boy frowned. "I thought I dreamed that."

"I guess she exists in your world as well?"

"You could say that," he said uneasily. He wasn't sure how much he was supposed to say about his world. In movies where people time traveled, you were always careful not to give away too much information in case you altered the future. Was it different with traveling across dimensions?

He struggled with the thought. It probably didn't matter if he talked about any one of his other friends from home, but with Terra, that was something different entirely. In his home world, though she had reformed in the end, Terra had nearly been the end of the Teen Titans. Would things be similar in this world? Would Terra team up with Slade against the Titans here? And if she was, was he supposed to warn them?

And he felt a pang now because if Terra was here and alive and not yet the enemy she would become, then there was a chance he could still help. Back then, he had always thought that if he had just seen the signs in time, he could've saved her from herself. Was it too late for him to do something here? Or would it cause more problems than it solved?

He stood up. There was only one way to tell.

"Beast Boy?" Raven asked.

He looked down, her face turned fully on to his, a question in the deep violet of her eyes, and felt regretful to leave. But he had to do this.

"It's been fun, Raven," he said, meaning it. "But I think I'm going to head back to the Tower if you don't mind."

Raven studied him for a minute. "All right," she said, almost dismissively, any playfulness gone from her voice.

Beast Boy ran down the small hill, looking back only once to see her gazing off into the distance, her hands playing idly with the folds of blanket, her hair swept gently back by the wind coming off the ocean. He turned from her and ran inside.


	6. Life After You (0)

Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance

Pairing: Primarily Raven/Beast Boy

Summary: Beast Boy and Raven have never gotten along, but when Beast Boy accidentally finds himself able to travel through parallel dimensions, he learns what life would be like if Raven meant something to him. BB/Raven.

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.

Author's Notes: Okay, I admit it. I've been gone for a very long time. It's not that I've forgotten about this story because truly this story is one of my first loves, and I can't ever put it completely away. But life has a way of side tracking you, and so I've been working for the last few years on an original fiction entitled...

_**School for Adventurers: A High Fantasy High School**_, which is on _**Kickstarter**_ now! If you like my writing, please visit the page and read all about it! Or at the very least, tell your friends!

Anyway, without much further ado, this fanfiction has been in the making for so long that I sometimes forget how ambitious I was. Like having the original Raven and the alternate Beast Boy plot. Totally forgot about how that one was going to go. And now I have readers reminding me of it, so of course, I read back in my story to refresh my memory. Blech. What was I thinking? If I could do chapter 2 all over again, I would. I remember thinking at the time that it'd been so long since I'd updated (hah) I wanted to have something there, so I just posted.

Ah well. I'll just have to roll with the punches, I guess.

**A World Without You**

Chapter Seven: Life After You

Location: THE Universe

Early in the morning, Raven sneaked into the common room. She checked the corners of the room and the blind spots, levitating just slightly above the carpet. At the edge of the room where it met the kitchen, she chanced a look around the corner to the table. Relieved to see only Robin and Cyborg there enjoying their morning meal, she strolled into the room.

Robin lifted an eyebrow. "What was that?"

"What?" Raven asked innocently, going to put on the kettle.

"You just snuck into the living room and scoped out the kitchen like a bank robber in the middle of a heist," he said.

"Just being cautious," she said. "Can't ever be too cautious in our line of work."

"Uh-huh," Robin said suspiciously, as she took her usual spot at the table.

She stared evenly at her tablemates. "Have you noticed anything _different_ about Beast Boy?" Raven asked after a moment of silence.

"Different how?" Cyborg asked.

"Is he behaving differently? Saying things he wouldn't normally say? Doing things he wouldn't normally do?" Raven clarified.

Robin paused to think. "I don't know. I actually haven't hung out with him. Not since the night we fought Vortex anyway."

Raven looked at Cyborg.

The metal man shrugged. "Honestly? I haven't talked to him either. But last I checked, he did start cleaning his room if that's what you mean," Cyborg said. "Why, do _you_ notice anything different?"

Raven felt herself flush. "He's just been acting weird, is all."

"Uh-huh," Cyborg said. He shared a conspiratorial glance with Robin across the table that Raven didn't miss.

"What was _that_?" she demanded.

Cyborg shrugged. "Nothing you would find interesting. So what has that grass stain been doing that's gotten you worked up?"

"He's been…" Raven struggled miserably with the words. What was she supposed to say?

"Engaging you?" Someone supplied helpfully. Raven and the boys turned to see Starfire at the end of the table.

With a smirk, Robin asked, "He's proposed?"

"You deliberately misinterpreted that," Raven accused.

"Do not be silly, Robin," Starfire said. "He's just been—"

"Never mind, Star—" Raven started, trying to get a word in before Starfire finished whatever she was about to say.

Unfortunately, Starfire was only too happy to gloss over her friend's quiet words.

"Initiating gestures normally reserved for special friends in places where they can be easily spotted," Starfire said. Raven waved her hands at the Tameranian girl. Starfire seemed to interpret this as a sign to be more specific. "They have been kissing in the living room," she amended with a smile.

There was a moment of silence.

Then Cyborg hooted, Robin grinned smugly, and Raven set her head down on the table so hard that plates rattled.

"I am sorry. I did not mean to witness your and Best Boy's event," Starfire said, patting Raven on the back comfortingly.

"You could have kept it to yourself," Raven said gloomily.

Starfire frowned. "I thought you needed some assistance forming your thoughts."

"Don't worry about it, Star. You've been very helpful," Robin said. He turned to Cyborg. "Now pay up."

From somewhere, Cyborg produced a billfold and handed Robin a wad of cash. "Man, I was only a couple months off."

"Told you," Robin said. "Arguing makes for good tension."

"Could've fooled me with how they carried on," Cyborg snorted.

Raven sat up. "What is this?" she demanded, as Robin folded the money into some pocket in his uniform.

"A bet," Robin said by way of explanation.

"A bet related to friends Raven and Beast Boy?" Star interjected. "You foretold this event?"

Robin shrugged. "It was partly out of boredom," he confided to the alien girl.

"It was going to happen at some point. Sooner, unfortunately, rather than later," Cyborg said. He looked over at Raven who glared at them all, feeling betrayed. "Sorry, Raven."

"What exactly did you bet money _on_?" Raven asked.

"You and Beast Boy," Robin said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Specifically, when you two were going to stop arguing in favor of making out," Cyborg said. "I was going to give it another two months, but I guess you just couldn't keep your hands off each other."

Raven stared at the boys incredulously. "You are not funny," she said.

The boys traded looks. "That's because we're not joking," Robin said very seriously.

"Yeah, you two have been side-stepping each other for years," Cyborg said. "Really, it's about time."

"You can't be serious," Raven scoffed. "How can you make a bet like that? Beast Boy doesn't even like me. We don't even get along."

"Which is why you spend all your time together?" Robin asked.

"Yes, all that time we spend together _fighting_," she said pointedly.

"You know, there's a thin line between lo—"

"If you would like to keep your original parts, you won't even think about finishing that sentence, Cyborg," Raven said in a clipped tone.

"I do not wish to offend you, Raven, but what our friends have been saying is not entirely unfounded," Starfire said gently. "You and Beast Boy do not always fight."

"_Et tu_, Starfire?" Raven said. "You're going along with this nonsense?"

"It is not nonsense," said the alien girl practically. "It is _love_."

"No." Raven crossed her arms with a scowl. "It is definitely not."

"So does that mean in all the years we've been working as a team, you've never once thought of Beast Boy in more-than-friends kind of way?"

Her hesitation gave her away. Robin had that self-satisfied smile on his face again.

"That doesn't mean anything," Raven said defensively. "Being teammates and all, it was only natural that I weighed my options and made choices."

"And your choice was?"

"There is absolutely nothing going on between me and Beast Boy," she said.

"Except for the kissing," Robin inserted. Raven glared at him.

"_He_ kissed me," Raven said.

"Even better," said Robin after which Cyborg muttered, "_Wow_, didn't think that's how things would go down."

"And, Raven, I noticed you never said once in our conversation that you _didn't_ like Beast Boy," Robin pointed out.

Raven hated that their leader could be so astute, especially when he could be so bull-headed about everything related to _his_ love life. She decided to ignore what he said. "Also, I'm the empath; wouldn't I know if he had these feelings for me?" she asked.

"Would you?" Cyborg asked. "This seems like something that would escape your notice entirely."

The doors that led into the common areas swished open, silencing the four Titans. When Beast Boy entered the kitchen, four pairs of eyes landed on him.

"Hey, guys," he said, sliding into the seat next to Raven. "You're all up early. What'd I miss?"

He was treated to a cold stare from Raven and bemused looks from the rest of his team. "Uhm, what did I do?" he asked Raven.

Raven couldn't stand that he looked so innocent. She stood, glared at the other three Titans, and pushed away from the table, brushing past him.

"What's up with her?" Beast Boy asked, staring at her back as the common room doors closed.

"We were hoping you'd tell us," Cyborg said, lifting an eyebrow at his teammate.

Beast Boy stared straight back at him. "I have no idea," he said.

"Really?" Robin said, disbelief in his voice.

"Uh, _yeah_," Beast Boy said. "You know Raven. She can be really unpredictable."

"I guess I just don't know her as well as _you_ do," Robin conceded with a smile.

"I'm sure you don't," Beast Boy retorted, which only made Robin's smile more lop-sided.

"Eh, I'm sure you'll be able to _make_ it _out_," Cyborg said.

There was clearly something going on, if he couldn't figure that out by the suspicious smirks on both his friends' faces. But Beast Boy wasn't sure what it was that was so funny.

"Dude, what's wrong with you guys?" The green teen asked. "Star, please explain," he said, appealing to the only teammate who would tell him anything remotely truthful.

"Apparently, Robin and Cyborg have been making bets regarding you," Starfire said, giving each boy an even, measured look. Robin and Cyborg both stopped smiling.

"What kind of bets?" Beast Boy asked, turning to them.

"On you and Raven," Cyborg said.

Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "Again? I thought that was over and done with."

"You knew?" Robin said.

"I have super hearing sometimes," Beast Boy reminded them. "Plus, you and Cy have been swapping money since before I even kissed Raven."

The three Titans gaped at him.

"What?" he asked.

"You kissed Raven?" Cyborg said.

Beast Boy gave him a skeptical look. "Is that news?"

"It's practically old news by now," Robin said. "But I just didn't think you were going to admit it so…so easily."

"Yeah, you're taking the fun out of this, BB," Cyborg said, deflated.

"Sorry?" Beast Boy didn't sound apologetic in the least. "But really, I thought we were over all this stuff a month ago, guys."

Again, they gaped.

"Okay," he said slowly in the ensuing silence. Uncomfortably, he looked at the clock on the wall and whistled. "Well, it's been fun. If you don't mind, though, I'm going to go see what's wrong with my girlfriend."

He hopped out of his chair and sauntered out of the living room before the other Titans could speak.

"What happened a month ago?" Starfire asked Robin.

Robin shrugged as Cyborg, in the wake of his green friend, echoed, "His _girlfriend_?"

A/N: If you like my writing, check out my original fiction story, School for Adventurers, about a school that trains teens to be heroes! Look for '_**School for Adventurers: A High Fantasy High School**_' on _**Kickstarter**_ today (until Nov. 15, 2012).


	7. Lovefool (1)

Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance

Pairing: Primarily Raven/Beast Boy

Summary: Beast Boy and Raven have never gotten along, but when Beast Boy accidentally finds himself able to travel through parallel dimensions, he learns what life would be like if Raven meant something to him. BB/Raven.

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.

Author's Notes: I never intended for Terra to show up this early in the story, yet as I wrote, I realized that the character of Beast Boy as I understand him obviates the following scene. If Beast Boy knew that Terra was alive, he might not welcome her with open arms, but he most definitely would want to talk to her, as evidenced by how he acted in the last episode of season 5 when he follows her ghost. And so, this scene was born.

Story Notes: The chapter title is _Lovefool _by The Cardigans because it fits. More from Terra's perspective than anything else.

As always, REVIEWS and CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM welcome.

**A World Without You**

Chapter Seven: Lovefool

Location: Alternate Universe #1

Beast Boy found Terra on the roof, looking out over the ocean. She must have heard him coming up—she could hear the vibrations of people walking after all—but she made no move to greet him or notice he was there.

He took the opportunity to study her. Between the universes, she really hadn't changed. She wore her Titans outfit—a black tee cut off in the middle with dark khaki shorts and yellow gloves and boots. She wore her hair, blonde as ever, down, though rather than having it at Starfire's length, this Terra kept hers considerably shorter so that it just touched the tips of her shoulders.

Beast Boy stopped a yard away from her.

"Hey," he said finally after she still didn't acknowledge him.

She gave an imperceptible nod. "Hey yourself," she said finally. "I hear you're not our resident Beast Boy."

"Not really. Don't even know the guy," he said with a rueful grin.

"Ha," she said, but didn't actually laugh. "Why are you here?" she asked.

"To talk," Beast Boy said, disarmed by her brusqueness.

Terra lifted an eyebrow. "Wow, you really _are_ new around here, aren't you?"

Something about her comment made Beast Boy uneasy. "Er, why do you say that?"

"Because _we_ don't _talk_," Terra said. She tore her gaze from his to stare out in the distance again.

"Why not?" Beast Boy asked persistent.

"Why do you think?" she countered.

Beast Boy couldn't think of a good reason, but that didn't matter because Terra gave him a smile that showed her incisors.

"I'm sure your _girlfriend_ would be happy to tell you all about it," she said.

Oh. That. He had broken up with Terra to be with Raven.

_No,_ his mind said, _his _other _self had broken up with Terra to be with Raven. His present_ _self would give up many things to talk to a Terra that wanted to be a Titan, one that remembered him... even if not in the most favorable way. _

"Well, first of all, she's not _my _girlfriend. And second, I wanted to talk to _you_," Beast Boy said, never one to be deterred, "because in my world, you're"—_dead_—"not around as much anymore."

"Huh," she said. "What am I doing?" she asked, intrigued enough to respond to him.

"Hanging around the city," he said vaguely. "Doing Terra things, I guess," he said when she looked at him questioningly.

"Sounds exactly like something I'd do," Terra murmured. She swung onto the stone edge of the roof, dangling her feet over the edge. Like most superheroes with the ability to levitate, she enjoyed the idea of heights and the potential for sudden free fall.

Beast Boy was about to leave since she obviously didn't want him around when she patted the empty space next to her and said, "Well, _you_ seem okay, so I guess you can stay."

Terra was nothing if not a little impulsive, Beast Boy thought gratefully. He hopped up onto the stone ledge and sat cross-legged.

"I'm sure Raven's told you a lot of things about…well, _you_," she said, sweeping her arm out to indicate she had meant them as a couple. "So, there's nothing new to tell you there," she said.

Beast Boy, familiar with Terra's habit of naming the exact topic she did not want to talk about, shrugged. "I didn't come up here for that."

"Oh. So what did you want to know?" she asked. "I won't answer just anything," she added before he could open his mouth.

"I want to know…" He stopped to scratch the back of his head. "I want to know how you are."

"La-ame," she said. "You're seriously asking me 'how are you?' after you say don't see me for who-knows-how-log?"

"It's an open-ended question," Beast Boy said defensively.

She gave a little laugh. "Okay, sure. I'm _fine_," she answered. "For having a total stranger re-appear in the body of my ex-boyfriend. How are you?"

"Fine," he said, "for being thrown into an inter-dimensional vortex."

"Yeah, how's that going?"

"Well, I'm in a twisted universe where, apparently, I'm dating the girl who fights with me and fighting with the girl I dated," he said.

Terra had to think about that one for a moment. "We're dating in your world?" she asked. There was a hopeful break in her voice.

"We went on a couple dates, sure," he said.

"But not anymore," she said.

"No, not anymore."

"So you're dating Raven in your world too?" Terra asked.

Beast Boy laughed because even after half a day to adjust, he still found the idea funny. "No, definitely not," he said. "We're friends, but we fight a lot, so dating would be kind of weird. We wouldn't be too great a match."

"That's exactly what I think. Er, _thought_," she said almost forcefully then winced. "Sorry."

"It's okay," he said.

"No, it's not really," she said. "You're not even _him_. You just…look exactly the same." Terra stood up suddenly. "The first time he…_you…_Beast Boy is interested in talking, and it's not even the right one. It's just… it's so unfair, you know?"

"Yes," he said.

"Well, it's… _nice_ to know that somewhere out there, you still like me."

"I'm sure my other self still cares for you," Beast Boy said.

"He cares for Raven more," she said.

"It's… different," he said, feeling strange about having to defending himself for himself.

"Uh-huh." Her face was unreadable.

"Terra... In my world... The reason we don't hang out together anymore is because of something I did," Beast Boy said. "I can't apologize to you in the world I'm from. And I want to say it to you."

Terra bit her lip. "Beast Boy..."

"Hang on," he said, plunging forward. "In my world, you left because you thought I'd betrayed your trust. But I swear to you that I didn't. I never told Robin. He figured it out himself. And I never got to tell you that you are special and that we'd never judge you for not being able to control your powers."

The words rushed out, and Beast Boy found at the end that they exhausted him. He studied Terra's face, but she was looking at the ground now, her face impassive.

"Maybe I'm not making any sense, but you had to know that I wanted so much for you to be okay... To tell you that I loved you."

He looked at her now as she leaned into him. In one smooth motion, she pressed herself against him and kissed him. Beast Boy was stunned for one brief moment, but felt himself sinking into the kiss.

She was here, and she was _real_, and she was... She was...

Beast Boy could tell he wasn't thinking straight. Because even though she was here in his arms, finally, at last... The kiss, the moment he used to dream about for endless hours after her betrayal and death, just didn't feel _right_. Even though there was a part of him that would care for her forever as his first love and his first girlfriend, he realized that, despite all odds, he had finally moved on.

_And what about Raven?_ he thought. It was eerie to think about, but this wasn't even his own dimension, no matter how similar the Titans here looked to his friends at home. But the Raven here _was_ different, if you couldn't tell by the way she bantered with him or the casual, accustomed way she took his hand or met his eyes. She and the Beast Boy here, strange and mind-boggling as that may have been, had something; they _were_ something.

For that and a host of other small reasons, he let the girl in his arms go.

"I'm sorry," he said, stepping away from her. "It's not right. No matter what I feel for you, the other Beast Boy, the real one, loves Raven. I can't screw that up for me. Or him. Or whatever one calls his alternate self."

She nodded slowly as if turning his words carefully over in her mind.

"How... How do you feel about me?" she asked, hesitant.

Beast Boy sighed. "Well, some time ago, in my universe, I loved you. I wanted you to live in the Tower and be a Titan, so we could be together."

"But?"

"But you, uh... You..." Beast Boy wasn't sure how to delicately reveal that she betrayed the Titans for Slade and then tried to kill them.

"I betrayed the Titans for Slade and then tried to kill them?" she said, as if reading his thoughts. Beast Boy gaped at her.

"How do you know?"

"Because, Beast Boy, I lived it," she said. She looked at Beast Boy, read the shock in his face as judgment, and her blue eyes narrowed with hurt. "Don't look at me like that. Now you're starting to look like _him_."

She meant the other Beast Boy, the one who had mysteriously disappeared, the one he must have swapped places with.

Beast Boy sighed. "I'm just surprised that it happened in this world because you're, well, you're _here_. In my world, you didn't make it... You, uh..."

"I caused a volcanic disruption?" she finished.

He nodded. "And then you took Slade with you. You turned into a statue."

"Well, in this world, Beast Boy, I lived," Terra said. "The Titans helped me make it out in time. And afterwards... Robin let me back in to the Tower. You guys were so good to me after everything I'd done to you."

"Hey, you made yourself a true Titan. You did it yourself."

"But even if I saved myself, I didn't save us. I tried to make it work with you. I realized when I thought I'd lose you to Slade that I loved you," Terra said. "But it was too late. We tried. But then, somehow, you became distant, and I realized that while I'd saved your life, I'd pushed you away. And then Raven had told you she loved you, and that was the end of that."

"I'm sorry..."

"No, I am. It was my fault. I never... I don't know that I'll ever forgive myself." She blew out a breath that ruffled the fringe of her bangs. "That felt good," she continued. "I never got the chance to tell the other Beast Boy how sorry I was. He wouldn't let me. And I don't know that he'll ever accept me." She sighed, and Beast Boy frowned. It seemed so entirely unlike her to talk about guilt and fault.

"I hope you and the other Beast Boy can be friends again," Beast Boy said. "If he'd lost you like I did... I think he would've felt differently."

"It seems easier to die as a noble hero than to live as a messed up one," she said. "But I guess in a twisted way, I'm glad he's happy with Raven. Though honestly? You two could be a little less happy together. It's kind of obnoxious."

Beast Boy chuckled, and she smiled back at him. And for a moment he kind of forgot that he was in such a strange land, in a strange place. In a way, traveling to this dimension had given him something with Terra he'd never really been able to find in his own—a sense of closure with his first love. At least Terra lived on somewhere else... Alive, mostly happy, and with the Titans like she should be.

Beast Boy stared at Terra, feeling a sudden peace he hadn't known he was missing. There were so many more things he wanted to ask her: how they'd met in this world, how they'd ended things, how he and Raven of all people worked out.

But as he opened his mouth, the Tower alarm blared, and they both sprung to their feet.

"What's happening, Cy?" Terra asked into her communicator as they sprinted across the rooftop.

"We found him. We found Vortex."


	8. A Place in this World (0)

Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance

Pairing: Primarily Raven/Beast Boy

Summary: Beast Boy and Raven have never gotten along, but when Beast Boy accidentally finds himself able to travel through parallel dimensions, he learns what life would be like if Raven meant something to him. BB/Raven.

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.

Author's Notes: Ah, this chapter. Finally. Actually when I first conceived of this story, I didn't think I'd jump back to the original Raven because of any potential perspective issues. But then I think that for this to truly be a love story, both parties have to change, and for that to happen, Raven needs to experience different Beast Boys. Plus, I wanted to see what happened to the Beast Boy in Alternate Universe #1, and this seemed the best way to do it. Anyway, dear readers, just make sure you know which universe you're reading in... because things are going to get interesting!

Story Notes: The chapter title is Taylor Swift's _A Place in this World_ which I also do not own. I kind of like it because of the entire Beast Boy situation.

As always, feedback and reviews welcome.

**A World Without You**

Chapter Eight: A Place in this World

Location: The Original Universe

Perspective: Raven

The entire affair around the breakfast table had been an offensive three-ring circus. It was so embarrassing that even a couple hours later, Raven was sure the red flush on her face was permanently burned there.

Raven had tried meditating in her room, but there was no going into her calm place after a morning like that. Instead, intending to avoid all her teammates entirely, Raven went to the roof where she sat, book in hand, looking more at the ocean ahead of her than at the words right in front.

Her brain was a jumbled mess. She knew that life wasn't neat or predictable, but Raven hated it when things were out of place. And today, nothing was right. Because Beast Boy had kissed her. _Twice._

She was so absorbed that she almost missed the faint buzz in her awareness that told her someone was behind her. She tensed, but then relaxed just as quickly when she felt it was Beast Boy. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him jump to sit next to her. She was expecting to see his obnoxious grin, but when she looked over, she saw him in kitten form, purring and circling into a lazy coil.

She scowled at him. "Can't you take anything seriously?"

The green kitten meowed and leapt off onto the ledge of the roof. His cat self stretched out into his human self, and he gave her the lop-sided grin with fang that was his trademark smile.

"You know better than anyone that I can't," he said.

Raven turned her gaze away and stared moodily out at the ocean. Beast Boy sidled up to her until their shoulders were touching. Raven wasn't sure where his familiarity had stemmed from, but it was seriously starting to disturb her. She leaned away from him.

"Hey, I wanted to talk to you. You've been ignoring me. I don't know what's changed between us," Beast Boy said, "but something's different, and if you know something about it, I'd like you to tell me."

"Funnily enough," Raven said. "I wanted to say the exact same thing to you."

"Nothing's changed on my end," Beast Boy said. "I still care about you."

Raven was so stunned by his blatant affection that she could only watch as he laced their fingers together as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Which is wasn't. Because this was _weird. _

"Okay, tell me, Beast Boy... What is _this_?" She lifted their joined hands before disentangling herself and shoving herself away from him. "What was with that _kiss_ in the living room last night? What is going on with you?"

He had the gall to look baffled as she laid out everything she'd thought was strange behavior over the last few days.

"I guess it's what you might call 'normal' when two people are dating."

She made a sound between a squeak and a scoff. The air up here seemed too thin suddenly. "_Dating_? We are not _dating_."

"Really? You must be confused. Because honestly, there aren't that many purple-haired demon girls that I happen to be in love with."

"In... In love?" She was so flustered that she couldn't breathe. "I think I'd _know_ if you and I had suddenly decided to strike up a romantic relationship!" she protested. "It's impossible. There's no way I could possibly be interested in you after everything you've done to me..."

She trailed off when he caught her chin in her hand and tilted her head up to look at him. When she met his eyes, she was troubled that her empathic powers had suddenly picked up that Beast Boy, no matter how crazy this sounded, thought he was telling her the _truth_.

She gaped at him. The truth? He believed honestly that he was in love with her? Beast Boy, the immature boy that had broken into her room to read her most personal poetry? Beast Boy, the Titan she'd had numerous spats with in every single corner of the Tower? She couldn't reconcile the Beast Boy she knew with the changeling who was stating with conviction that he was in love with her and that they were dating.

Beast Boy had to be possessed. There was no getting around it. Raven didn't know what had taken over his body or what its intentions were in trying to initiate a physical romance with her. All she knew is that she wanted things to go back to normal, and she wanted her best friend back.

So when he leaned forward to kiss her again, she was prepared. A kiss wasn't her usual entry into the human psyche—she preferred the eyes of a host while she was in spirit self form—but this case was unusual all around. Her power flowed into him, and everything about his energy and his emotions felt... _different. _It only confirmed her theory that this was _not_ Beast Boy.

She pulled away from the kiss which had left both of them reeling.

"Whoa, Raven... Your power... I've never been exposed to it so fully," he said dizzily. "It's a little overkill, don't you think?"

He made a move towards her, and she surged to her feet, steadying the world swirling around her. Without much warning, she threw a black energy sphere at him. He dodged with a surprised yelped, and the sphere slammed into the Tower roof.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "You're not Beast Boy."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, getting to his feet. "Of course I am. Who else would I be?"

There was something wrong because Raven's senses were telling her that he was being honest right now as well. She circled around him. What were her powers telling her? Was he Beast Boy, or wasn't he?

"Prove it," she said. "Tell me something that only you'd know."

"You're crazy," Beast Boy said.

"Everyone knows that," she quipped. "Tell me something else."

"I don't know! Give me a hint," he said, bewildered. The confusion and hurt inside him were nearly palpable. "I don't understand what's going on."

"Once, during the time I consorted with Malchior, I shape-shifted you out of the form you'd taken. What were you?"

"A fly on the wall."

Anyone could have guessed that, Raven reasoned. She needed something closer to home.

"We went to a carnival once. You won me a prize. What was it?"

"A stuffed chicken," he said without missing a beat.

She shook her head. She needed something more personal. Something that had only happened between them.

"What color am I when I'm happy?"

"Pink."

Raven racked her brain, trying to think of something, _anything_, that would tell her why this situation felt wrong. And she realized all the questions she'd asked were about events that had happened over the past several years.

"Yesterday," she said. "We got into a fight. You stole something from me. What was it?"

He paused, uncertain. "Uh... Did we get into a fight?"

"Do you know the answer or not?"

"No. I don't remember a fight. Unless you mean the one we had about Terra..."

She cocked her head. "Terra? Why would we fight about Terra?"

"You told me I needed to make amends with her," he shrugged. "You told me I had to find closure."

"We did have that conversation... But that was at least half a year ago..." Raven said. "And it was only because you thought Terra was still alive."

"She's dead?" He sounded stricken like this was the first time he'd heard the news.

And that one statement seemed to make everything fall into place in Raven's head. The sense of wrongness she'd felt after the vortex had closed, his behavior recently... She chided herself for not figuring it out sooner. The energy spheres at her hands dissolved, and she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You aren't Beast Boy," Raven said. "At least... Not the one from this dimension."

* * *

It took Cyborg, Robin, and Starfire a good hour to sort out and confirm what Raven had discovered on the rooftop.

"So you're saying that this Beast Boy—" Robin pointed at the Beast Boy currently sitting atop an examination table in the Tower's medical facilities—"is not _our_ Beast Boy."

"It sounds farfetched," Raven admitted. "But I know what I saw. Beast Boy was definitely sucked into the vortex... I just never questioned it because we got another one back. A different Beast Boy that traveled through a... a space dimension!"

"He looks so much like our Beast Boy," Starfire said uncertainly, knocking on his head three times as if he were a ripe melon. He tried to squirm away from her. "You are positive that it could not be a mistake?"

"I don't really believe what you're saying," the fake Beast Boy—which is what Raven had taken to calling him inside her head—said. "Interdimensional travel? You've got to be kidding me."

"It's not that unusual. It's not like our reality hasn't been distorted before. What about Mad Mod? Or Mother Mae Eye?" Raven said defensively. "And Herald opens portals to different dimensions all the time."

"I'm inclined to agree with Raven," Cyborg said. "It explains some of the anomalies I've noticed over the past couple days..."

"Like the _kissing_?" Raven pointed out. She immediately regretted it when Robin smirked at her.

"I meant, more like the energy readings I've been getting off the security scans in the Tower," Cyborg said. He grinned at her, and Raven literally _saw_ the gears in his head click with interest. "But go ahead. Tell us _more_ about the anomalies _you've _been experiencing."

"You're twisted, Cy," Raven muttered under her breath.

Beast Boy blinked. "So... If I'm not in my universe... Which one am I in? And if I'm in a different universe, why doesn't everything feel different?"

"It's entirely different," Raven insisted. "In this universe, you and I are not a _thing_."

Beast Boy made a face at her. "I think you know what I mean."

"If you engage in the idea that there are multiple dimensions or universes that you can travel to," Cyborg said, "then this universe might not be so different because it's a close jump between yours and ours. Your universe is essentially ours with some minor tweaks."

"So... how do I get back?"

Robin and Cyborg exchanged worried glances, and the silence made Raven's stomach twist up. No one had a good answer for that one. Vortex had used a portal to get out of their dimension. Even if they could enlist Herald or force Mad Mod to help them, they didn't know which dimension to open. Vortex and the real Beast Boy could be anywhere in any of the thousands of worlds that existed. Which meant...

Beast Boy grasped the gravity of the situation first.

"So... I might be stuck here forever? That's just... great, guys. Wonderful," Beast Boy said. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be in my room..." He trailed off. "Although I guess it's not really my room, is it?"

But he didn't wait for anyone to answer. He left, and the door closed with a resounding thud.

"Man, that's tough," Cyborg said when the changeling had gone. "What are we going to do with him? I don't even know if or when Vortex is going to come back."

"Let us not dwell on what we cannot do. I do not think it will benefit or comfort this Beast Boy to know that," Starfire said.

"We're the Teen Titans," Robin said. "We'll figure something out."

"Right now," Starfire said, "This Beast Boy needs our help. Raven, you should go talk with him."

"Me? Why me?"

"Even though you two do not share the same intimacy he does with the Raven of his world, he will probably be comforted to talk to you more than any of us," Starfire said diplomatically.

"Especially with your _relationship_," Robin added, his eyebrows wiggling over his mask.

Raven bared her teeth at him and Cyborg. "Don't think I _forgot_ about the _bet_ that you two have carried on behind my back! What's up with that?"

"What do you mean? It's like I said before. You two are fighting all the time... That much tension must mean _something_," Robin said.

"Let's not even talk about romantic tension with you, Birdboy," Raven said with a subtle nod at Starfire. Robin gulped.

"Surely you've noticed that you two have a connection at least," Cyborg, the more sensible one (or so Raven liked to think) said.

"It's ridiculous," Raven reiterated. "I don't have feelings for him."

"Raven, if you _did _have feelings for him," Cyborg said, "can you honestly tell me that you'd admit them to yourself?"

The question troubled Raven so much that she just shook her head.

"Don't be silly, Cy," Raven said in the awkward silence. "Now if you'll excuse me... I'm going to check on Beast Boy."

* * *

And so, an hour later, Raven mustered up the courage to knock on Beast Boy's door. He answered, his hair ruffled.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were asleep," Raven said. "I'll just be going."

"No," Beast Boy said. "It's not a problem. Really."

"Can I come in?"

Beast Boy's gaze shifted from her to his room. Raven peeked inside to see what he was looking at. She rarely visited his quarters. It was always him visiting her somehow, bothering her when she didn't want to see him the most, like he had a radar for that kind of thing.

It only took a glance to figure out why she'd never come to this wing. Beast Boy's room was horrendously cluttered.

"You know, it's kind of a mess," Beast Boy said with an endearingly embarrassed grin. "Let's talk outside."

"Sure... We can talk in the living room."

"I was thinking of something a little more outside than that..."

* * *

No more than ten minutes later, Raven and Beast Boy were at the Titan's favorite pizza place in downtown Jump City. They'd just put in their order and had snagged a table outside on the patio.

Summer was in the air, and there was a comfortable heat in the breeze that blew past them. The sunset on the bay and the beautiful flowering archway above them seemed to make their table romantically cozy. Raven sipped her soda and tried to not think about _that_ too hard.

"I'll admit when you said 'more outside', I thought you meant the training grounds," Raven said.

"Yeah, well... Here we are. I wanted to see for myself if I'd actually changed worlds. You know, it's one thing for you and the others to tell me that I'm in a different dimension. It's another thing to go outside and live it," Beast Boy told her.

"Is it different?"

"The flowers are a nice touch... On the other hand, this soy ice cream milkshake is _way_ inferior," Beast Boy said, a little sadly. A short silence stretched between them, and Raven sat back.

"I'm sorry you're stuck here," Raven said.

"I can live with the bad soyshake. It could be worse. I guess if I had to choose a dimension to be stuck forever in, it might as well be one where I'm with the Titans," Beast Boy shrugged. "And with you."

He flashed her a grin that was all charm. Raven fidgeted in her seat. It suddenly made sense to her why he'd been so popular with the girls in Japan. She was grateful when the waitress brought over their order, distracting him. Beast Boy chomped into a slice of vegetarian pizza and was happy it tasted about the same.

"You do know that Beast Boy and I aren't... we're not really... uh... we aren't _together_," she said.

"So you seem to enjoy reminding me," he said. "Why is that?"

"I've thought about it," Raven said. "And it's because we fight. All the time. I think you're obnoxious and immature, and last week, you stole a book of my personal poetry..."

"If you're anything like the other Raven, I recall your poetry being pretty good," Beast Boy said.

She grimaced. "That's what the other Beast Boy said too. But I'm pretty sure he's just making fun of me at my expense."

"I doubt it," Beast Boy said. When Raven opened her mouth to protest, he waved her off. "Hey, of the two of us, I'm the best authority on what your Beast Boy might actually think of your poetry, right?"

"If you say so."

"What else?" he prodded, tearing into another pizza slice. "So we fight a lot. Why else aren't we dating?"

"Isn't that enough?" she asked, watching him guzzle everything down with a soda the color of his hair.

"Some might say that fighting is the finest form of flirting," he pointed out.

She smirked at that. "Uh-huh. And sometimes fighting is just what it is. A fundamental inability to get along." She delicately took another sip of her drink.

"You know, the Raven in my world used to fight with me all the time before we dated. We fought about everything. Tofu dogs, football calls, poetry, remote controls, everything! She even threw a frying pan at me once."

She sputtered and coughed on her soda.

"So I'm just saying it doesn't really mean a thing," Beast Boy concluded. "And what about the times when we aren't fighting? Don't tell me we're not friends."

He said it lightly, but Raven caught the worry in his tone. If it'd been a normal day and if it'd been the real Beast Boy, she would've easily denied that any such thing as friendship existed between them and secretly enjoyed the irritated look that crossed his face whenever she didn't agree with him.

But things were different. Today wasn't normal. And it wasn't like she'd _normally_ be out with Beast Boy, eating pizza under a flowering bush at sunset like they were on some sort of bizarre date!

"Of course we're friends," she said heatedly. "You're..."

She paused to clarify her thoughts. It was hard to sum up exactly what he meant to her, and she'd never been one to express affection easily. She knew she had a soft spot for him. She knew that, for all the times they'd fought, there'd been more times they hadn't. She also knew that if she'd had to pick any one person in the Tower she trusted the most with everything (except her poetry), it'd be him. But she had no idea how to say all of that.

"You're... my best friend," she said, settling on the term. She decided it worked. "When you're not being incredibly obnoxious."

This perked him up. "Your best friend? Things are going better than I thought. Okay. Question. If my other self asked you out, would you go on a date with me, er, him?" he asked.

"Beast Boy has never had plans to ask me on a date," Raven said.

"How do you know?"

"Because I do," she said. "I'm an empath, remember?"

"So you know exactly what everyone's feeling all the time," he said.

She opened her mouth. Closed it. "Maybe. It's not an exact science."

"So it is possible my other self likes you, and you have no idea," Beast Boy said. "Which brings me back to my question. If he _did _ask you, would you go on a date with him?"

Something about his tone reminded her of Cyborg's question from before. _If you did have feelings for him, can you honestly tell me that you'd admit them to yourself?_

Somehow Beast Boy's and Cyborg's questions seemed too open, too full of possibility. And if she were being really honest with herself... Well, Raven didn't actually know the answer to either. She shook her head.

"I don't know," she said.

"Interesting," he said, leaning back.

"What?"

"There just aren't that many things you don't know. I've stumped the all-knowing Raven," Beast Boy said with a grin.

"Oh, stop it. It's unbecoming for anyone to be so smug," she said, irritated by the fact he was chuckling. "I don't even know why you're trying to push the point. You must know by now that I'm nothing like your Raven."

He blinked at her. "Of course you are. Or else I would've figured out I'd traveled to a different universe much sooner."

She had nothing to say to that. "So I'm exactly like the other Raven."

"Well, not _exactly_," he said. "Not now that I think about it."

"What do you mean?"

"You're a little more..." He waved his hand around, searching for the right word. "Guarded."

"So what if I am?"

"Hey, no need to get defensive," he said. His hand automatically went to her shoulder in a gesture of comfort. It took Raven's confused stare for him to take his hand back. "Sorry. It's not an insult. I understand why you are that way. You've been raised to think you were a weapon for Trigon, and it's made you wary of yourself. You shouldn't be. You're a good person."

Raven sat back, touched. "You're certainly a lot more mature than Beast Boy. You're more thoughtful," she mused.

"I think that was mostly Raven's influence," he said. "The _other_ Raven."

"I know who you mean. We don't have to spend the entire night clarifying the point."

"Oh, so you want to spend the entire night doing something else?" he asked, and the mischief behind that innocent smile made her sputter.

"No! I... I..."

"...must realize I'm teasing you by now," he said smoothly. "More pizza?"

* * *

After pizza, Beast Boy tried to convince Raven to go for a walk in the park.

"We really should go back," she said in reply.

"Do we have to? What do you want to go back for the Tower for anyway?" he asked.

"No reason in particular," she said. "It's just getting late."

"Come on, Raven, staying out won't hurt you," he said. "It'll be a quick walk."

"We'd better not. Robin's probably got some crazy training schedule for us tomorrow morning. It's best if we sleep early, so we can focus."

"Well, you go ahead then," he said.

"You're... not coming?"

"I can't."

"Why?"

He sucked in a breath of air. "If I go to the Tower... I'll just keep remembering that this place isn't my home and that there's no way back," he said. "I can't handle that right now."

Raven sighed, and, not for the last time, cursed her current job. She was really terrible at cheering Beast Boy up. "How long of a walk?" she wondered.

He grinned at her. "Short."

"That is _not_ an accurate measure of time_, _Beast Boy," she said, but she followed him anyway down a walking path that circled around the bay.

The night was lovely. The moon was full and bright against the stars. Raven was actually kind of enjoying herself when Beast Boy suddenly went off the hiking trail and into the trees.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise," he said. "Come on."

"Wouldn't flying be a lot faster?" she asked as they climbed up.

"Do you have no sense of adventure?" he countered. He grabbed her hand, and this time, despite her startled look, he clamped down on it. "This way."

"I have a sense of adventure," Raven said. "You can't be in our line of work without having one."

"Ha. Yeah," he said. This did not deter him from dragging her further into the forest.

They started up a large hill. Raven couldn't tell what was on the other side of it. She could tell, however, that he was still holding her hand. She drew it sharply away from him as she used it to scramble over a rock.

"Are you having fun?" he asked after they'd been silent for a while.

"Fun?" she echoed.

"Yeah, you know that thing we do on weekends or when we're not working," he quipped.

Raven surprised herself by being amused. Had the other Beast Boy been this amusing? She flashed on a memory of the time her Happy side had admitted to Beast Boy that she always thought he was funny.

"I guess you could say that," she said.

They crested the hill at last. Raven was expecting to see a vista of the bay, but instead she saw ruins of what looked to be an ancient stone tower. It was old and historic and beautiful. And it was just exactly the kind of thing Raven enjoyed.

Beast Boy stood to the side while she wandered into the half-broken tower, appreciating the stonework and the masonry and wondering how this had come to be in the middle of a metropolitan city.

"This is great," she said.

"Isn't it? It's like a castle in the middle of nowhere," he said.

"Yeah, it's gorgeous."

"I'm glad you like it," he said softly. "I knew you would."

She turned to face him and found he'd closed the distance between them very quickly. He looked down at her, and Raven felt it hard to swallow. She tried to focus on precisely when he'd stopped being chin-level and started being able to stare down at her, but was distracted by the hammer of her heart in her chest. Which was weird. Because this was _Beast Boy_.

He cleared his throat and broke eye contact. "Let's head back," he said with some effort.

They walked back down to the path and took a short detour into the park where Beast Boy rolled on the grass until he landed facing up at the sky. Raven sat primly next to him, hugging her knees into in her chest.

"What do you think will happen?" he asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Say we never find Vortex and we never find the world I actually come from. What do you think will happen?"

She hugged her knees to her chest. "It's best not to think about it," she said. "We've only just started trying to figure your situation out."

"I know," he said. "But it's still a real possibility, isn't it?"

Raven didn't answer. Instead, she lay back, the grass cool against her neck and fingers. What he'd said was a very real possibility, and worry suddenly hit her like a freight train. What if they couldn't find a way back for this Beast Boy? What if their Beast Boy never came back? She was starting to regret throwing that frying pan at him.

But she shook her head. The real Beast Boy would figure out his way home; he just had to.

"I would try not to think about it," Raven said again.

"I've been trying not to all day," he said. He turned on his side to face her, propping himself up with a bent arm. "I could live here easily enough, I guess. Your world isn't so different. At least I have my own room." He smiled, but it was a little lackluster.

Raven felt sad for him. She was not happy that Beast Boy was gone; and she couldn't even imagine what it was like for _this _new Beast Boy. She rolled to face him.

"You'll get home," Raven said.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes, I promise," she said resolutely. "Even if we have to open a thousand portals to a thousand dimensions, we'll find yours. I won't stop until it's right."

She looked over at him, held his gaze, and felt her breath hitch in the back of her throat when he used his free hand to cup the back of her head. The touch made her empathic powers go haywire as she was suddenly paralyzed and overwhelmed by his feelings for her.

He pulled her closer, and a dozen thoughts jumped into her head all at once. Practically, another voice said that this wasn't anything new. This Beast Boy had kissed her before. Of course... he'd kissed her when he thought she was Raven his girlfriend. Not Raven, the girl from an alternate universe who was much more _guarded _than his actual girlfriend. Which meant, in a weird way, this would be their _first_ kiss...

Her last thought before he touched his mouth to hers was that she really shouldn't encourage this behavior. But she didn't pull away, partly because she was swept away by how much he wanted it and partly because... well, it wasn't entirely _unpleasant_. She had no idea what to do with her hands, but there wasn't any time to think about it because he deepened the kiss, and Raven was swamped with the emotion of it all**—**hers of confusion and his of an almost desperate need.

Just as suddenly, it all left her. He rolled away from her into a sitting position and looked out.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help it," he said. "But I was wrong earlier. You're exactly like her... Intelligent, beautiful, compassionate... I love her. And I might never see her again."

She got up, knelt in front of him, and put both of her hands on his shoulders. She didn't know what she was going to do...

And she never would because, before her eyes, Beast Boy doubled over and gasped, his face pained. There was a flash of light, and he seemed to flicker like a frame in a broken movie reel. She reached for him, hand outstretched to grab him...

"Beast Boy!"

...And caught nothing.

A/N: Where did Beast Boy disappear to? Maybe alternate universe #1 has some answers...


End file.
